What to Do Before the Common App Officially Opens
Almost every year without fail, at least one student or parent tells me they wish they had started the college application process earlier. While some schools, like UChicago, often release their essays early, the Common App only officially opens in August each year, which doesn’t allow students to start that early. That said, students can use prompts from previous years to get a head start, though it can be frustrating for students to write essays only for the schools on their list to change their prompts from previous years.
So, how can students maximize their time spent on college applications in the summer? We’ve mapped out a month-by-month checklist to help you make the most of your time before deadlines start rolling in.
April
Make a list of your top schools and start visiting a few of them early—don’t wait until you’ve already started writing your college application essays! You can learn a lot from college visits that will help you write Why Us essays later.
Research every school on your list. Many schools—including William & Mary and Bowdoin—offer interviews by registration only. Spots fill up quickly, though, so you need to make sure you plan ahead to secure your spot for a summer interview.
May
Narrow down your school list.
Decide on your EA/ED plan.
Research these schools using our College List template. Figure out why you want to attend these schools—fit is incredibly important to top colleges, and it should be important to you. Don’t apply to a school that isn’t right for you just because it is prestigious.
Begin searching for scholarships for each school on your list. Many of these will have deadlines earlier than the college’s application deadline. For example, Vanderbilt University has several scholarships with deadlines in early December. If you haven’t submitted your application to the school early, though, you’ll miss out on your chance to apply for these scholarships.
Pre-plan videos for any of your applications. Some schools, including UChicago and Brown, ask for video introductions in their applications. If you want your video to stand out, start filming it now—collect footage of your most exciting activities to include in your video later.
June
Begin writing your personal essay, AKA the Common App main essay. This is one of the most time-intensive and important essays you will have to write, and every school on your list will see it!
Revisit your resume. Now is the time to begin editing this into your Common App Activities List.
If you have more than 10 activities, start strategizing how to make use of the Common App Additional Information Section. This section is not required, but it’s a good place to outline your additional achievements, or include descriptions of the research you have done and other projects you spearheaded.
July
Begin the most common supplementals, even if you’re just writing 100 words to start. Here are the ones you should already have brainstormed by August 1:
Why Major:
Why do you want to study the thing you want to study? This essay is sometimes phrased as “What piques your curiosity?” Think about your future goals, but don’t worry if you don’t have a 10-year plan yet. You should know what you generally want to study and frame your interest through your narrative (your personal story+your resume+your goals)
Describe Your Most Meaningful Volunteer/Community Service Involvement
This prompt came up often in the 2023-2024 application cycle. Avoid saying you helped people in need and that opened your eyes to injustice—not only is it bland, but it will make you seem like you were not informed before volunteering and just jumped into it to get volunteer hours. You, hopefully, should have already been aware that hunger existed before you started volunteering at the soup kitchen.
Your Background/Perspectives
Similar to some approaches to the Main Essay, this prompt asks students to describe the community or culture they come from. Think deeply about the way your upbringing and history defined who you are, and make sure you can connect this to the way you will interact with a diverse group of peers at the college.
Describe an Intellectual Activity
This essay asks you to choose an intellectual activity—a research project/internship, a club or extracurricular activity connected to your field of study, or a self-directed project—and explain why it was important to you.
The more you get done over the summer, the less you have to do in the fall. Don’t let your first semester grades suffer because you’re rushing to finish your college application essays. Get started early.
